​I've been experimenting a bit with options for our Christmas dinner and I've decided on this rather delicious dish!I came across the idea on the rather fabulous plant based blog mygoodnesskitchen and the simplicity of this appealled massively!My criteria for any recipe really, festive or not, is flavour, simplicity and nutrition and this one ticks all the boxes!

Plus it looks great too and is sure to impress your guests!

We stick with vegan options for Christmas although Kathryn always requests a veggie lasagna which isn't festive at all but it's her favourite so we make a separate one for her.We tend to have lots of options and a table full to overflowing with festive fare but we all love cooking and have the time to spare but food is a priority in our house.

The saying there are those who live to eat and those who eat to live and we definitely fall into the first category!!We love food!!So back to this really simple but elegant dish. The most difficult part is cutting holes in the butternut squash! I have a really good plain round cookie cutter which worked really well. I also tried a fluted option which although more difficult to cut through, left a lovely flower shaped hole, although the hole is filled with stuffing mix so just go with the plain option! Cut slices about an inch thick and buy a butternut squash with a long neck end so you can cut a good few slices out!I decided also to try the stuffing mix with portabello mushrooms and it worked really well and was simpler and quicker since the mushrooms don't need pre cooking prior to adding the stuffing and you don't have to cut a hole in them! You just give them a wipe with a damp cloth, put them on a lightly greased baking tray and spoon generous amount of stuffing mix and a wee drizzle of oil then bake them for around 20 minutes or so!​Doesn't get much easier than that!

Okay so the stuffing has a lovely festive flavour from the cranberries, chestnuts and herbs. If you can't find chestnuts then you can replace them with walnuts or hazelnuts. I used Merchant Gourmet vacuum packed cooked chestnuts from Waitrose.Another time saving tip is to use a can of cooked lentils! Then its simply a matter of frying an onion, garlic, herbs then adding the other ingredients and heating it through.I am going to make up my stuffing mix and freeze it so I'll be good to go on Christmas day.If you have fresh sage, rosemary or thyme in the garden then add a good chopped spoonful of all of them. Alternatively you can use dried herbs.I served a slice of squash and a big mushroom with a delicious gluten free, extremely healthy mushroom gravy, which is made with cooked brown rice, mushrooms, stock, herbs, garlic, tamari or balsamic vinegar and optional nutritional yeast flakes! All you do is simmer the mushrooms, stock and cooked rice for 10 minutes then add herbs, garlic and seasoning and blend the lot into a delicious vegan gravy. No faffing around with lumpy flour and butter for me!! The recipe is included at the end of this post.On a health note, cooked and cooled rice, potatoes and pasta have way more benefits for our gut bacteria, due to increased amounts of resistant starch, and everyone knows how much I go on about these wee critters! Its a symbiotic relationship on a massive level, with huge benefits for us, their hosts!So do yourself a favour and provide your gut microbes with a festive feast this year and they will repay you with enhanced health on every level! A feast to these wee guys is fibre, lots of it from different sources, so veggies, fruit, wholegrains, lentils, seeds, nuts, beans and pulses is the way to go! If you decide to make this delicious dish your festive choice then you will be doing your health, your taste buds and your gut microbes a huge favour!

Whatever graces your festive table this year, enjoy it and have a wonderful Christmas...

Here are the simple recipes..

FESTIVE STUFFED SQUASH Ingredients to serve 6

1 large butternut squash, or 2 medium, preferably with a long neck end

If using fresh lentils, then rinse them, add to a pan with double the amount of water to cover and gently simmer for 25 minutes until cooked, then drain them.

Wash the buttternut squash and cut 1 inch slices from the long neck end. You should get between 4 and 6 depending on the size of your squash.

Now the tricky bit! Cut a hole in the middle of each slice using a cookie cutter. You may have to press quite hard to get it through or cut it from both ends and use a knife to loosen the edges but remember the hole will be covered with stuffing mix so it doesn't matter if its perfectly neat or not.

The pieces of squash you have cut out, cut them into small dice to add to the stuffing.

Lightly grease a baking tray and place the slices of squash on it, drizzle or brush with a little oil and season with sea salt and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Add the diced squash to the tray and drizzle with a bit of oil.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large pan and add the onion, diced mushrooms, garlic and fresh thyme leaves. Cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes or so until soft.

Add the cranberries, chopped chestnuts and drained lentils, good pinch of nutmeg and fresh or dried herbs. Check the seasoning.

Take the squash slices out of the oven and add the cooked diced squash to the stuffing mix. Add a good handful of baby spinach and stir until it wilts.

Fill each squash ring with a good spoonful of stuffing mix, drizzle with a little oil and return to the oven for another 20 to 30 minutes until the squash is cooked through.

If you are using Portobello mushrooms then just wipe them, remove the stalks, place on a greased baking tray, fill with the stuffing, add a drizzle of oil and bake in the oven for around 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the mushrooms. You can just omit the cooked diced squash from the stuffing mix if you are only using mushrooms. One large mushroom per person should be fine!

VEGAN MUSHROOM GRAVYIngredients

1 cup of cooked brown rice

125g mushrooms, wiped with a damp cloth and diced finely

500 mls veggie stock

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon tamari or balsamic,or apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes (optional)

sea salt and black pepper

1 tsp dried herbs or fresh sage or thyme

Method

Simply put the rice, chopped mushrooms, stock, garlic and herbs into a small pot and simmer gently for 10 minutes until the mushrooms are cooked.

Blend with a stick blender until smooth then add tamari, vinegar or lemon juice.